Funding round
Cohere Series A
Cohere, which works in enterprise AI platform development in Toronto, raised $40M in a Series A round announced on 7 Sep 2021, led by Index Ventures. 3 firms took part, with 4 individual investors. It is Cohere's first venture round on record.
$40M
Amount raised
Not disclosed
Post-money valuation
3
Investors
1 lead
Valuation
What this round says about the price
Cohere did not disclose a valuation in this round. It is Cohere's first venture round on record, 2 years after it was founded in 2019. It is 3.9% of the $1.03B Cohere has raised in the venture rounds on record. Cohere raised again 5 months later: a Series B round of $125M in Feb 2022. Its next priced round, a Series C in Jun 2023, valued it at $2.20B.
Cohere's funding rounds
Cohere has 5 venture rounds on record and 1 other deal. This one is highlighted.
- Series A this round 7 Sep 2021, led by Index Ventures $40M
- Series B 15 Feb 2022, led by Tiger Global $125M
- Series C 8 Jun 2023, led by Inovia $270M$2.20B post-money
- Series D 22 Jul 2024, led by PSP Investments $500M$5.50B post-money
- Grant not a venture round 1 Dec 2024 $171M
- Growth 24 Sep 2025, led by Radical Ventures and Inovia $100M$7.00B post-money
Investors
Who put money in
Index Ventures led the round with 2 other firms.
Lead investor
- Index Ventures backs 353 venture-backed companies new investor
Also in the round
- Section 32 new investor
- backs 65 venture-backed companies new investor
Individual investors: Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel and Raquel Urtasun. Joined the board: Mike Volpi (Index Ventures).
Use of proceeds
What the money is for
According to the announcement, the money goes to hiring, product development, sales and marketing, scaling operations and working capital.
- Hiring
- Product development
- Sales and marketing
- Scaling operations
- Working capital
Comparable rounds
How it compares
1,861 Series A rounds in Tech Companies within a year either side disclosed an amount; the median was $12M, and this round was 3.3 times the median. The closest in time, other companies' Series A rounds in Tech Companies:
| Company | Announced | Amount | Post-money | Led by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tech Companies | 15 Sep 2021 | $69M | not disclosed | Silversmith Capital Partners |
| Tech Companies | 15 Sep 2021 | $55M | not disclosed | Silversmith Capital Partners |
| ClickHouse Tech Companies | 20 Sep 2021 | $50M | not disclosed | Index Ventures and Benchmark |
| Tech Companies | 30 Sep 2021 | $50M | not disclosed | Molten Ventures |
| Tech Companies | 9 Sep 2021 | $45M | $300M | Index Ventures |
| Tech Companies | 1 Sep 2021 | $38M | not disclosed | Target Global |
| Tech Companies | 1 Sep 2021 | $36M | not disclosed | Insight Partners and Peak |
| Tech Companies | 21 Sep 2021 | $34M | not disclosed | Tiger Global |
Sources
Where this comes from
Reported by 5 sources.
Questions
Frequently asked
How much did Cohere raise in its Series A round?
Cohere raised $40M in its Series A round, announced in Sep 2021.
Who led Cohere's Series A round?
Index Ventures led it, with Section 32 and Radical Ventures.
What was Cohere's valuation at the Series A round?
It was not disclosed.
How does it compare with other Series A rounds in Tech Companies?
1,861 Series A rounds in Tech Companies within a year either side disclosed an amount; the median was $12M, and this round was 3.3 times the median.
Did Cohere raise again after this round?
Yes: a Series B round in Feb 2022 of $125M.